


Birds of Magic

by SAMCROeater



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-28
Updated: 2021-03-09
Packaged: 2021-03-12 12:26:59
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 10,261
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29759601
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SAMCROeater/pseuds/SAMCROeater
Relationships: Bruce Banner/Original Female Character(s), Loki (Marvel)/Original Female Character(s)
Kudos: 3





	1. Chapter 1

The legends of Asgard speak a lot of Thor, God of thunder, and Loki, God of mischief. Volumes of text talks of Odin Allfather and Frigga, and stories of Hela and all of their triumphs. But one Asgardian does not get a lot of attention or praise. Brenna Odinsdottir. The Princess of Asgard was born on a beautiful Asgardian morning with a few complications but ultimately born healthy. But what people came to learn was that at the same time Brenna was born, there was a tree that sprouted. But instead of a sapling, it was a small tree. Complete with leaves and branches. Not yet old enough to bear fruit, but a fully formed tree nonetheless. Nobody could explain the correlation between the two, but it was revealed quickly that the bond between the two was unbreakable. When the tree would be injured, Brenna felt it. When Brenna would get sick, the tree would show the effects. It wouldn’t be until her 20th year of life that answers were finally given. The tree was born when she was and was the source of her powers. Brenna Odinsdottir gained the power to manipulate plant life. When her powers manifested, it was something small that tipped her father off. There was a bouquet of flowers that had not been there moments before and nobody had claimed to have put them there. His suspicions had been confirmed when he witnessed his youngest child making a crown of flowers for her family. But the excitement was quickly lost when the realization came that her powers stole her energy when she used them. The bigger the task she tried to do, the more energy was taken from her, and the longer she was unconscious. It worried her parents immensely and she was told that she wasn’t allowed to use her powers at all. But that was just as dangerous as using her powers. The build-up of unused power made her a time bomb that was prepped to go off at any moment. And that moment came in an argument with her brother Thor. The two had been fighting, much as siblings do, about who was their parents’ favorite child. Her abilities became tied to her emotions and exploded when she did. The explosion knocked the poor girl out and almost fatally wounded her brother. Brenna was unconscious for far too long and her family thought they were going to lose the little girl. But the strangest thing happened. That single tree, which had indeed been slowly dying while Brenna laid dying as well, started to mend itself. Fruit even started sprouting. Not just one type, but a few different types. Apples, oranges, cherries, and other types of fruit. Loki was the first to discover this and ran to the healing room in time to be the first to see his sister awake from her long slumber. The decision was made to have Brenna learn to control her powers. Something that she did by spending as much time in the garden as possible. She loved being around plants immensely and seemed to thrive more and more as she worked. Life for her continued as if she weren’t limited by her abilities. After a while, her biggest obstacle became her relationship with her oldest brother. 

“Loki, we can’t do this here. We’ll be found for sure.”  
“Do you not remember what I’m the God of, little Poppy? Mischief. Nobody will see or hear us if I don’t want them to.”  
“You know I don’t like doing this out in the open. It’s too risky.”

She looked at Loki when he put his finger against her lips, shushing her. He pressed a small kiss to her full lips before looking into her eyes. 

“I have never steered you wrong before, sister. Trust me now.”  
“I do trust you, Loki. With my life and my heart. It’s a preference thing. I don’t like being so exposed. If I’m going to be with you like this, I’d prefer to be somewhere with a bed. You know? Like your room that has more than enough space for those chains we both love.”  
“And that was all you had to say, darling.”

\---------

Brenna stood in the throne room next to Loki, smiling as Thor walked in, watching him kneel in front of their father. She rolled her eyes and let out a soft giggle when Thor gave her a cocky wink. She was happy for her brother, watching and waiting with bated breath for the same thing Thor was. For him to be crowned as King. But her father’s sudden frown caught her eye, knowing something was wrong. She walked down with her brothers and father, gasping at the sight of the guards dead on the ground, kneeling down next to one of them, shaking her head sadly. She looked up at Thor when he spoke. 

“Calm yourself, brother. Getting angry won’t solve anything. And you can’t fight against what you don’t know.”  
“How are you not angered by this, Brenna?”  
“I never said I wasn’t. This is my home too and it infuriates me to see how far they got. But father’s right. The Destroyer has done its job and the tesseract is safe. We’ll find how they got in and make sure that it won’t happen again. In the meantime, you must calm down.”

She walked into her chambers with Loki, closing the door behind them before looking at him, leaning back against the door with a deep sigh. 

“Well, that was certainly dramatic.”  
“It’s Thor. Were you expecting something different?”  
“No. But I wasn’t expecting him to challenge father like that right before he was crowned King. I was hoping he would think first for a change.”  
“You’re a sweetly naive girl, Brenna. You expect too much of people sometimes.”  
“No, I don’t, Loki. I expect people to be the best they can be. Like you. You are a lot of things, some good and some bad, but at the end of the day, you are you. And you are the best you can be. That’s what I expect out of Thor. But he is a child stuck in a man’s body. He needs to be better if he is to be a good King. And I-----”  
“You must stop worrying yourself, Brenna. People are the way that they are and you can’t change that. You can’t stop Thor from being who he is any more than you could cut down your tree without killing yourself.”

She looked at him with a sigh, nodding as she leaned into him, feeling him wrap his arms around her. She always felt safe with Loki and loved. She looked up at him when he tilted her chin up with his fingers wrapped around her chin. She watched him slowly lean down to kiss her when someone stormed into the room. She and Loki quickly pulled apart and looked over at Thor. 

“Thor! Why are you barging into my room as if it were yours?”  
“Because I need to talk to you, sister. I’m going to Jotunheim to get some answers. I was hoping you would cover for me.”  
“No! You can’t go to Jotunheim. It’s a suicide mission, Thor!”  
“No, it isn’t. I will get the answers I seek or we will wipe them all out.”  
“We? Who is we?”  
“Sif, Fandral, Hogun, and Volstagg, of course.”

She rolled her eyes with a deep sigh, turning around and grabbing her cloak. 

“I’m going with you.”  
“No, you’re not. It’s too dangerous for you.”  
“That’s the point, Thor. I’m hoping that if someone’s there to hold you accountable, you’ll actually think things through. Unless, of course, you want to rethink this whole mission?”  
“Not a chance. But you’re not going with me.”  
“Yes, I am. And if I can’t stop you, you can’t stop me.”  
“Loki! Talk some sense into her.”  
“I can’t. You know how she gets when she’s like this. It’s your own fault for opening your mouth, brother.”

\------------

Brenna walked across the terrain with Thor and the others, sticking close to Loki, her cloak wrapped tightly around her. Jotunheim was a frigid planet that never experienced heat and Brenna was used to the warmer climate of Asgard. She looked around as they walked, making their way to the throne room. Once they got there, she watched the interaction between Laufey and Thor. Recognizing that Laufey was giving them a chance to escape unharmed, she went over to Thor at the same time Loki did, placing her hand on Thor’s arm, looking at him. 

“We need to take his offer, Thor. look around you. You all might be strong, but we are outnumbered. We will not make it through this fight and there is no plant life on Jotunheim. I cannot help you.”

She watched him change his mind and turn around to leave, closing her eyes in frustration when one of the frost giants taunted him, knowing Thor wasn’t going to let that stand. She watched as the fight started, rooted to where she stood by shock and fear. It took Vandrall pulling her out of the way of a frost giant’s club that she was able to come to her senses, hiding behind a blockade. She watched everything, worried about her friends and brothers. 

“Heimdall? Please hear me.”

She let out a soft gasp as she felt like she was being pulled somewhere else, though she was still stationary. She turned to see Heimdall watching her. 

“What do you require, Princess?”  
“Thor has started a battle with Laufey and we’re outnumbered. We need help. Please call father and ask him to----”

She was pulled out of her conversation by something grabbing her, getting turned around to face a frost giant, her eyes going wide in fear. She watched as she was carried to Laufey, who smirked at her when he saw her. She heard Laufey call for attention, getting turned to face the others, hoisted a little higher as Laufey started speaking. 

“I am done with this. You will cease or I will end the girl’s life.”

She gasped when she felt the edge of a blade against her stomach, tears pricking her eyes as her breathing picked up, looking over at Loki. 

“You cause one hair to fall from her head and I will kill you all myself. That is a promise.”  
“I will have her run through before you even take a step. If you care at all, step back and leave.”  
“We cannot leave without our sister.”

She looked over at Loki when he spoke up, trying not to cry. She let out a small scream as the blade pierced her skin when Thor took a step forward. She let out a breath when it stopped, looking at Laufey. 

“Please let me go? I’ll get them to leave. I promise. Ahhhhhhhh!!”

The blade went deeper into her, slicing through her muscles and making her bleed. She could hear the others protest, but it was falling on deaf ears. Laufey refused to listen to reason. The blade stopped where it was and Brenna was starting to feel faint. She couldn’t focus on anything other than the pain, and she was losing consciousness. She could feel the blood dripping from her. She looked up when she saw a bright light, losing consciousness before she could see who was coming from the light. She faded into darkness, Loki’s name falling from her lips on a whisper too quiet to hear clearly. 

\-----------

Loki’s PoV: 

Standing next to mother as we watched Brenna’s deep breathing was excruciating. I should’ve stopped this before it started. I had hoped that father would come a lot sooner than he did, but at least he had before Brenna had been……

“She won’t be happy when she hears about Thor. She’s going to try to get you to change your mind, father.”  
“I know she will. That doesn’t mean that I will. And I don’t want to talk about your brother at the moment. I have some things to take care of.”

I watched as Odin walked out of the healing room, sighing at the hostility in his tone. 

“Brenna has always been his favorite. Why is he leaving her now?”  
“Your father loves you all equally. But he never could handle seeing Brenna sick or hurt. It hurts him in a profound way. He hates when you three are in here, though you and Thor have always bounced back quickly. But Brenna…….She takes longer to recover and it’s always terrifying to watch because she fluctuates.”  
“I know. I hate seeing her like this.”  
“We all do, Loki. We all do.” 

I held mother’s hand when she placed her hand in mine, both of us watching Brenna sleep for a while longer. I had no concept of time until mother looked at me. 

“You should get some sleep, darling. There’s not much anyone can do for her. The fight is hers to go through.”  
“What if she wakes up and no one is here?”  
“Then she’ll fall back asleep or find someone. But it is late.”

I nodded, kissing her head before kissing Brenna’s hand gently, running my long fingers through her long blonde hair. I bid them both goodnight before heading to my room, locking the door behind me. Thor has always been a hothead, but he usually took care when it came to Brenna. I thought he’d do the same this time, but he hadn’t, letting his ego get in the way. Again. Something that is a pattern for him and I should’ve known better. He should’ve known better. He shouldn’t have told Brenna that he was going. When it came down to it, Brenna would give her life if she thought it would save someone she loves. This was no different. Forcing her into using her powers was the worst thing my dear brother could’ve done. Everyone in Asgard knows not to let her use her powers without some kind of assistance. I grabbed a cup of water, draining it before throwing it across the room. Being helpless is not something I like being. And right now, I was beyond helpless. There was nothing I could do to save Brenna. 

\------------

Why she did this, she had no clue. But Brenna found herself on Midgard, looking around for her banished brother. The sun was coming up as she walked off, looking for any sign of Thor. And after quite a while of searching, she caught sight of him. He was sitting in some building surrounded by random people. She walked up to the door and knocked, being polite. A lot of people looked at her, but nobody made any move to let her inside until Thor spotted her. She smiled when she saw him beaming at her as he got up, pulling her inside when he opened the door, allowing him to pull her into a crushing hug. 

“Brenna, these Midgardians are my friends. Jane, Darcy, and Erik Selvig.”  
“It’s nice to meet you all. Thank you for taking care of my brother.”  
“She’s your sister?” 

She looked over at Jane and nodded. 

“Brenna Óðinsdóttir.”  
“The Brenna from the legends? The quiet Princess?”  
“Legends? Of Asgard?”

She sat down when Thor pulled out a chair for her. 

“Yes, sister. There are apparently still stories of us in legend on Midgard. Isn’t that amazing?”  
“It’s certainly interesting.”  
“By the way, why are you here, sister? Shouldn’t you be near your tree?”  
“I have Loki and Heimdall looking after us both. And I couldn’t let you be alone. You're my big brother.”

She looked over when someone asked if she were hungry, nodding. 

“I am. I’ve never had Midgardian food. I don’t know what to order.” 

She looked at Thor when he ordered her some pancakes and something called coffee. 

“So you’re a Princess? Where’s your crown?”

She smiled at the girl named Darcy and nodded. 

“We don’t really have crowns or tiaras in Asgard. I prefer to make my own out of flowers and leaves.”  
“You make flower crowns? Can you make me one?”  
“Sure. But it’ll take a lot out of me.”  
“You’re not using your magic, Brenna. They don’t have our healers here. They won’t understand how to heal you properly. And we don’t know how it works with you and your tree being bonded.”  
“Why do you keep talking about a tree?”

She floundered a bit for how to explain it properly, but couldn’t find the words. Thankfully for her, Selvig stepped in to do it. She listened to his story and nodded. 

“The only thing you got wrong is the tree. It sprouted at the same time I was born. We don’t know much about it except that the tree and I are tightly bound. If one of us is ill or injured, the other suffers too. But it’s definitely interesting to hear the legends of Asgard haven’t faded from humanity. Father would be happy to hear that.”  
“How much of the legends are true, Brenna?”  
“It depends on what the legends say. This is the first that I’m hearing about the legends still being told.”

She looked at Erik with a polite smile. 

“Will you tell me more of the legends?”  
“I can get you books of them that you can read.”  
“That would be great. Thank you, Dr. Selvig.”

\-------------

Brenna walked out into the main area of Jane’s home, having changed into the clothes that were provided to her. She looked over when Thor asked for her attention. 

“You look beautiful, sister. But I still think that you should go back. I’m sure that our family misses you.”  
“Of course, they do. But I’m not leaving you. Now stop asking. And thank you. You look nice too.”  
“Thank you. These garments will suffice until I got Mjolnir back and we can return home.”  
“You have to make yourself worthy of Mjolnir. Or you’ll never get your might and power back. Nor will you be able to go home.”  
“I will. I did it once, I’ll do it again.”  
“One tip, brother? Don’t be so arrogant. That’ll help prove your worthiness.”  
“Don’t worry, sister. I will get Mjolnir back.” 

She rolled her eyes and walked over to Selvig, who was standing in front of some kind of machine. She smiled at him when he spotted her. 

“What’s this machine?”  
“It’s called a computer. I do research and other things on it.”  
“What kind of research do you do?”  
“All kinds of things, some of which I’m sure would bore you to hear about.”  
“What are you working on right now?”  
“I’m helping Jane figure out what that wormhole is you came out of.”  
“That wasn’t a wormhole. In Asgard, we have this thing called a Bifrost. We use it to get to different places. I think your vernacular would call it a transporter of sorts.”  
“Transporter? Like out of some sci-fi movie?”  
“What’s a sci-fi movie?”  
“It’s a movie genre.”  
“What’s a movie?”  
“it’s…..It’s like a…... I don’t know how to explain it properly. Would you like some tea?”  
“Yes, please. Thank you.”  
“Sugar or milk?”  
“A little of both, please.”

She gave him a smile as he went to make the tea, looking over the information on the computer. Some of the stuff she saw correlated with the moment before Thor fell to Midgard and the moment she arrived in Midgard. She bit her lip gently as she looked at the pictures. She was both impressed and worried. It was impressive to see their arrivals from a different perspective, but she was worried as to who else might have seen and what their intentions might be. 

“Brenna? Your tea is ready.”

She looked over at Erik, giving him a small smile. She moved to take the tea from her when she felt dizzy enough for her vision to fade for a moment. She felt Thor’s arms supporting her, not realizing she’d fainted for a moment, or that she had fallen. 

“Brenna?? Talk to me!”  
“Thor, stop yelling. I can hear you.”  
“Oh, thank Odin…….”

She let Thor help her up and over to a chair to sit in, taking a small breath as she leaned back in the chair, pressing her hand to her head, still feeling a little weak.

“We are calling Heimdall and you are going home.”  
“I’m fine. I’m just tired.”  
“Don’t argue with me, Brenna. I should’ve sent you home as soon as I saw you. You’ve never been far outside of Asgard like this. And certainly not for this long. I’m calling Heimdall to bring you home. Today.”  
“And what about you? You’ve never been banished before. And you need help getting Mjolnir back. I’m going to help you. And I’m not taking no for an answer.”  
“Why are you so damn stubborn??”  
“Funny. We all say the same about you, brother.”  
“What? I’m not stubborn.”  
“One word. Jotunheim.”  
“Not fair. That was necessary.”  
“No, it wasn’t. You started a war that father had to finish. That was out of pure stubbornness.”  
“It was to get answers-----”  
“And we got none! It’s obvious there was a traitor inside Asgard and father would’ve figured it out and punished the ones responsible. But instead, you let your anger lead you and you started a war! I love you, brother, but you are the most stubborn man I’ve ever met! And we both have the same father!”

She groaned softly as she started feeling faint again, sitting back against the chair. 

“You need to relax, Brenna. Drink your tea.” 

She let Erik help her drink, looking up at him, her eyes refusing to focus. She tried to stand up again, but she fainted as soon as she was on her feet. Thor was able to catch her before she hit the floor, carrying her to the bedroom that Jane directed him to, laying her down in the bed. 

“Will she be ok?”  
“I want to say yes. But she’s never been this far away from her tree for this long.”  
“So this tree of hers is sick right now? Can they heal each other?”  
“Yes. But using her powers has always been hard on Brenna. No matter how hard she works to control her abilities it takes a lot out of her. Even something as simple as helping a blade of grass grow means she could end up so weak that she can’t walk on her own. She enjoys making flower crowns, but she always ends up in bed when she makes just half of one.”  
“That sounds hard.”  
“She’s always been a weak girl. Our healers don’t know why. Research has been done to try and figure out this connection and what it means for her, but nothing has been found. Even after hundreds of years.”  
“So there’s no way of knowing if things will ever change for her.”  
“Exactly. Despite us being Gods, we do age and die like Midgardians, and our father is getting on in years. We won’t all be around to watch over her forever. I’m just hoping that we won’t lose her before our time comes.”


	2. Rough Nothing

Brenna woke to find herself in her room on Asgard, sitting up slowly. She ran her hand through her hair as she let her mind catch up to what was going on around her. She looked over when the door opened, looking into Loki’s eyes. 

“You’re awake. How are you feeling, Poppy?”  
“My mind is fuzzy. How long have I been asleep for this time?”  
“3 days. You almost died on us again.”  
“The tree?”  
“If you’re awake and coherent, it’s probably fine.”

She watched as Loki put some water and flowers on her bedside table before he sat on her bed, letting him take her hand. She sniffled softly and looked at him, tearing up. She was pretty strong to put her family at ease while around her, not wanting them to worry too much about her. But even she worried about her health. It got to her every now and then that when she would get sick she was always so close to death. And there was seemingly nothing that could be done about it. Odin and Frigga had spent years helping their researchers find an answer for what was going on or a cure, and nothing had been found. Loki pulled her in for a hug as Brenna broke down, feeling her wrap her arms around him tightly. 

“I don’t want to die. But I can’t keep doing this. It’s too much.”  
“I know, Poppy. We all hate seeing you like this. It’s hard for us too. But we’re here for you. I’m here for you.”  
“I know you are. But things would be better if I had died as a baby. Or if I had never been born.”

She looked up at him as he tilted her chin up. 

“I never want to hear you say that again, Brenna. Our lives are so much better because of you. My life is better because you’re in it. I love you more than I’ve ever loved anything and I would be crushed if something happened to you.”  
“But something will happen, Loki. I’m going to die. I know I am. And sooner than I should. I can’t even use the powers I was given without losing consciousness. I can’t help you or Thor in battle, I can’t even plant flowers with this ability because it takes too much out of me! I can’t find out what I can do with my powers because it takes too much energy and too much of my life! And there’s NOTHING I can do to set my family’s minds at ease because I know what you’re all thinking. You’re all thinking that it’s only a matter of time before me and my stupid tree die! You think you’re helpless when you’re watching me to make sure I’m breathing? Try not being able to help your family, the people you love the most because you’re the problem. If something happens to you or Thor, you can bounce back quickly. It takes me days to recover from a simple fainting spell. Without having done anything to bring it on! You have no idea how much I hate myself on a daily basis or how much I wish I could be powerless so I don’t have to…… hate my life.”

She let out a huff and went over to the balcony, looking down at the garden outside, tears streaming down her face, feeling Loki’s gaze on her. She didn’t often show this side of her, even to Loki, because she already felt like a burden to her family. Only Heimdall knew how many times she’d thought of taking her own life. How many times she’d attempted it. Only for her tree to heal itself, and therefore her. She melted into Loki’s embrace when he took a hold of her, breaking down in hard sobs, letting him hold her through it, feeling his own tears dripping into her hair. 

Loki’s PoV: 

Watching as Brenna writhed under me, whimpering my name wantonly with her hands in my hair as I thrust my cock inside of her quim was an erotic sight to behold. Having rested and gotten a chance to work through her emotional outburst, Brenna had asked for something to ground her to reality and give her some sort of happiness. And I can never say no to this gorgeous creature. 

“Please, Loki…... “  
“Please what, Poppy? Use your words.”  
“I need you to stop teasing me.”  
“You do? And if I don’t?”

I smirked as I pushed in as deep as I could go, cutting off her answer before she could get the full word out, hearing her say my name with a strangled moan. I stayed where I was seated inside her, feeling her walls flutter around my cock. 

“I can feel how badly you want to let go for me. Then do it. Scream my name as you release for me.”

I watched as she tried to get herself there, chuckling when she started to cry a little, flexing my cock inside her to push her a little closer. I knew exactly which buttons to press to keep her on the edge and frustrate her, and because I loved watching her struggle like this until I was ready to spill out myself, I will continue to tease her until I’m ready. Or when she begs for it. 

“Loki, I can’t……. You have to move…… Please?”  
“You want me to move? But I like being right here. Right against your amazing cervix where I know you’re toeing the line between pain and pleasure. Pain because I’m pressed so tightly against you that it’s making your legs sore to be open like this. And pleasure because I’m so deep that you can taste me. Can’t you, my beautiful Poppy?”

I chuckled more when her eyes went cross, gripping her hips as she arched her back far enough to lift her off the bed, holding her up. I decided to show her some mercy, starting to thrust into her again, keeping my pace just fast enough to stop teasing her, my hips snapping into hers. 8 thrusts was all it took for her to let go for me. Her body pushed my cock out of her as she gushed, feeling her juices splashed against my erection. I groaned as I watched her body convulse in unbridled and primal pleasure. I couldn’t help myself as I pulled away and lay down on my stomach in front of her, breathing deeply to take in the scent of her quim --- warm, wet, sweet, and musky. And all mine. I flattened my tongue and ran it from the tightest of her entrances up to her clit, feeling her shudder against my face, letting out a groan at the taste of her. Just like I could never say no to her, I could never get enough of her. I always had the sneaking suspicion that my family never truly cared for me. But Brenna? Brenna was always there for me. When I was down and needed company, she would smile at me and things didn’t seem so bad. When I was hurt, she was by my side and shooing away healers so she could care for me herself. Despite how sick she always was and how frustrated she was with her limitations, she was the one that I never had any doubt about. And, while I always tried my best to be there for her, I could never quite get her to glow like she should. Until we were alone and didn’t have to hide. So while I enjoyed the smell and taste of her, I did everything in my power to make her feel as happy and light as she deserved. So if she wanted me to tie her up while she had four of me pleasuring her until she cried from being so sensitive, that’s what she would get. If she needed to be loved long and slow, she’d get that. If she needed to feel like she was being punished for her perceived faults, it would hurt me to do to her, but I would. I was pulled out of my thoughts as I felt her push against my head, her body trying to fight off her 4th release of the night. I gripped her thighs tightly and kept going, drinking down her juices when she fell apart. I felt her tug tightly at my hair as if she needed to hold onto something to keep her grounded to the bed, doubling my efforts against her clit, hearing her mumble incoherently as she moaned and panted, feeling her body struggling against the build-up. As much fun as I was having, the hard tugging of my hair was starting to hurt. I conjured up a clone, making him go over and pin her hands somehow so I could focus on her orgasms. 

“No, Loki……. I can’t…….. It’s so much……”  
“Yes, you can, Poppy. Just give into it. Let yourself go. Again and again and again…..”

I kept going, switching positions again and again before Brenna finally had enough. I watched her lay down, giving her a quick once over before banishing the clone and grabbing a washrag, getting it wet so I could clean her off. I tossed the washrag to the floor before climbing into bed next to her, holding her shaking frame close to me, kissing her head. 

“Did I go too far?”  
“No….. I loved it.”  
“You look blissed.”  
“I am. But you didn’t release.”  
“Don’t worry about me. Tonight was about you. So relax and sleep.”  
“I love you, Loki. more than you know.”  
“I love you too, Brenna. More than I will ever be able to express.”

It didn’t take much longer for her to fall asleep. I kept my arms around her, sighing softly to myself as I realized that she would hate me when she found out that I was the traitor that let the frost giants into Asgard and would hate me even more so when she learned why I did it.

Brenna made her way to Jane’s home with her friends, looking for Thor desperately. Her anger at Loki and her father fueling her forward. She rushed over to Thor when they saw each other, running into her brother’s arms. 

“Brenna? What are you doing here? You shouldn’t be away from your tree.”  
“I’ll be fine. But you need to get Mjolnir.”  
“I can’t. I’m not worthy.”  
“You don’t understand, Thor. Loki is the traitor. He’s the one who let the frost giants in so they could take the tesseract.” 

She looked into her brother’s eyes, watching him search hers for any sign of a lie. But there was none. 

“Why would Loki do such a thing? Why would he betray our family like that?”  
“Because he wasn’t made King. There’s more, but now’s not the time.”  
“What do you mean now’s not the time?”  
“He’s sending the Destroyer to kill you so he can be King.”

Just as she finished saying that, there was a loud boom, all of them looking over to see the beam of light in the distance. 

“Brenna, get the others out of here. I’ll try to talk some sense into our brother.”  
“You can’t. He’ll kill you or die trying.”  
“Brenna? Leave. I won’t let you or anyone else get hurt.”  
“And you think I’m going to let you get hurt?”  
“I’ll hold him while you get them to safety. Go. Now.”

She watched him leave, sighing deeply before looking over at Jane and the others, starting to lead them away. But she didn’t get very far when Thor was knocked back by the Destroyer, followed by their friends. Being the only one that had the power to do anything, she stepped forward without thinking. She took a breath and looked up at the metal statue, holding out her hands, searching the town for any form of plant life that she could summon to her. There wasn’t much, but she’d take anything she could get at this point. She gasped softly as she felt vines coming out of her, letting them fly toward the Destroyer and wrap around its wrists and ankles. When they were securely wrapped, she pulled with what little strength she had at this point, not hearing her friends until she felt them pulling with her. She started to lose her strength as the Destroyer struggled against her and the others, but she almost lost focus as Thor zipped past her with Mjolnir, breaking the connection as the Destroyer was killed. Once the connection was broken, she fainted into Sif’s arms, her vision going dark immediately as she lost consciousness completely. 

Brenna stood on her balcony, watching out over her garden, her mind on Loki. She was heartbroken that she lost him. No. She was heartbroken that he left her. She’d woken up the morning after she’d fainted to learn that Loki had given up on life and let himself die. She’d mourned alone, holding onto the blanket she’d stolen from his room as she cried for the love she’d lost. Despite knowing that Loki had betrayed her and her father, she still loved him. And she would never be able to tell him that. She stayed in her room for days, holing herself up in bed. Most of the time she slept, dreaming of Loki and the love they shared. But the times she wasn’t, she was in her garden, tending to her tree. Which was now bigger than it had ever been, fruits and flowers sprouting from it as if showing off how powerful they’d both become. Brenna had started being able to control her powers slowly, but she couldn’t enjoy it. She was too sad to enjoy her control. 

“There you are, my heart. It’s nice to see you out of bed again. Any chance you’ll decide to join the rest of your family today? Everyone wants to see you for your birthday celebration.”  
“I don’t feel like celebrating. It still hurts, mother.”

She leaned into her mother when she was pulled in for a hug, closing her eyes. She let a few more tears fall before wiping her eyes. 

“I know it does, Brenna. We’re all mourning him. I know how much he loved you and I’m confident that he wouldn’t want you to wallow. He would want you to find your happiness and pursue it head-on. He’d want you to control your powers so you can find out just how strong you can be. He’s in Valhalla, watching over all of us and feeling the pride you should be feeling about your accomplishments. The pride we’re all feeling on your behalf.”  
“I just…… I can’t stop thinking about the last time we talked. I said such horrible things. And I can never take it back.”  
“Yes, you can. Focus on the good times you had with him. Remember him that way and let that love guide you on your path. The path that you are destined to take.”

She nodded at her mother, embracing her in return. She watched her mother leave the room so she could get ready for the banquet. As she fixed her hair, she felt as if someone were hovering next to her, as if they were trying to reach out to her. She turned in her seat to see if there was something there. She saw nobody else in her room, nor did she see the reflection of Loki watching her in the mirror. He was indeed watching over her, his guilt keeping him invisible to her sight.


	3. Hurt By The Past

Brenna sat in the throne room, reading as she drank her tea, her mind conjuring up images of Loki. She missed them with everything she had. But there was nothing she could do. Loki had demons that they had to choose to deal with and Brenna couldn’t help them with that. But they must not have been prepared to deal with it or something. 

“There you are, Princess. We require your counsel.”

She rolled her eyes at Thor as he filed in with their friends, a smirk crossing her face as she sat up straighter, putting on a more royal air, watching them kneel for her. 

“And what can the Princess of Asgard do for such fine warriors?”  
“Well, Princess. We were hoping that the Princess would allow us to celebrate her life tomorrow with a huge party in your honor. And we were wondering if you would honor us by making an appearance.”

Her smile fell and she looked down at her hands before looking at Thor.

“We’ve talked about this, Thor. I don’t want to celebrate my name day. I have no intention of partying any time soon. So please drop it?”  
“You don’t need to wallow, Brenna. In fact, you shouldn’t. Loki wouldn’t---”

She stood up suddenly, her mood shifting from sad to angry. Much like it had whenever Loki’s name was uttered around her. 

“Loki is dead! By his own choice! Loki doesn’t want anything anymore! The next person that utters his name in my presence again will be punished. Now get out unless you have actual business to discuss! Father left me in charge of the throne and I have a lot to do that does not involve hearing about LO…..People who are no longer alive.”  
“Sister, I meant no offense. But you’ve been heartbroken since it happened and we all long to see you smile again.”  
“I’m fine. And I will continue to do things in my own way and time, brother. Go spend your time pining for your mortal and leave me be!”

She left no room for discussion as the rose plants that sat on either side of the throne grew tall and branched out towards the 5 people that were now backing out of the throne room. Once they were gone, she sat back down, fighting back tears as the plants settled back in their pots, watching the doors close. She missed Loki so much more than people knew, but Thor was the only one who knew what they were to each other. In a lot of ways, she was doing better. She’d been working on her powers and getting better at practicing her limits. But when she ran out of things to occupy her time with, it was incredibly difficult to keep herself from thinking about Loki. She tried to stop, but it was like her brain was punishing her somehow. And she was allowing it to happen. 

“Princess?”

She was pulled out of her thoughts when one of the guards walked in, wiping her eyes a bit, and looked at him. 

“Yes?”  
“Heimdall has sent word. Loki is alive and planning an attack on Midgard. In fact, he just landed on Midgard.”

She stood up, forcing herself into acting like a Princess, though she wanted to be happy that Loki was actually alive. 

“Inform my father and mother. Let him know that Thor and I will bring him back after stopping whatever it is he has planned.”  
“Yes, Princess.” 

She stepped away from the throne, going to find her brother before they made their way to Midgard. 

\-------------------

Brenna looked over at Loki with a look of pure hurt and anger when Thor landed with him, unable to stop herself as she went over to slap him as hard as she could across the face. She watched Loki stumble before he looked back at her. 

“I deserved that.”  
“And you deserve more than that. How could you do this to me? I mourned for you! I thought you died and it broke my heart!!”  
“I am sorry, Poppy…..”  
“No!!! You don’t get to call me that! You don’t get to give me those eyes and think I’m going to just forgive you! I understand you’re hurt and you’re angry and you have every right to feel that way. Father shouldn’t have lied to you. But I thought I meant more to you than that. I thought you loved me……”  
“Of course I love you. It killed me to stay away from you. But I----”

She looked over as Thor was zipped away by a blur of light and color. She restrained Loki with a bunch of vines, keeping him in place before flying off to find Thor. When she found him, he was fighting with someone in a metal suit. She tried to reason with them both before giving up, using her powers to hit them both with a large tree branch, knocking them both to the ground. She rounded on her brother first from her place on the plateau looking over them both. 

“We are not here to fight, Thor Odinson! We are here to get Loki, the Tessaract, and return home! Act like the King you should be and not the petulant child you are!”  
“You got told, King Arthur.”

She rounded on the other male, tears still dripping down her face as she spoke. 

“And you. Instead of attacking first, maybe ask why we’re here. We are here to remove the threat. Not create more trouble. But just like an animal, if you attack us, we will reciprocate what we are given.”  
“I’m afraid we can’t give you Loki. He’s under arrest.”

She looked over when someone else came over to her, this male speaking calmly to her. She lowered her hands a bit as she looked at him. 

“I understand you have your reasons for wanting him punished, but Loki is not a being your prisons can hold. He will be taken back to Asgard and punished for his crimes on your world and ours. And rest assured, his punishment will be exactly what he deserves.”  
“Then we’re taking the staff he had with him.”  
“I’m afraid we’ll be taking that too. The stone it holds is a power that Midgard has never seen. It’s not safe here and you are not safe around it.”  
“Then we’re at an impasse, ma’am. We need either the weapon or the man. There’s no way around it.”

\------------------------

Brenna watched as the SHIELD agents led Loki to a cell, cuffed in something that dampened his powers. It hurt to see him like that, but she knew he’d brought it on himself. She looked around at the others that were there, standing next to Thor. She listened to Fury speak about Loki and what he had done, running her hand through her hair. 

“I see your reaction, Green Thumb. Who is he to you?”

She looked over at the man whose name was apparently Tony Stark when he turned to look at her. 

“Family. And my name is Brenna. I don’t appreciate the nickname.”  
“What kind of family? Because the tears you had earlier suggest more like husband and wife than brother and sister. Unless Asgard is weird like that.”  
“First of all, do not talk about my family as if you know anything about us. And second of all, Asgard is a very different world than this. Things are not the way they are here.”  
“So you two are together?”  
“Were. And once again, do not talk about things you know nothing about. My relationship with Loki has nothing to do with you and therefore is none of your business.”  
“He attacked my home. That makes it my business.”  
“No, it doesn’t. Your business is to make sure he’s arrested. And he’s been arrested. So your business is over. And do not dare stand there as if you have any real power here. Thor and I are cooperating because we have no intention of pulling rank. But make no mistake, the second you realize how dangerous this is, we will be taking Loki and the scepter back in its entirety to Asgard where Loki will answer for his crimes properly.”  
“So we’re worms to you?”  
“No. Everyone else here has given us the respect we tried to give you. Your mouth has made you a worm.”  
“I’m guessing there’s a lover’s quarrel going on. Someone needs to get laid.”

She glared at him, slowly standing up to her full height, getting stopped from doing anything by Thor. 

“Calm yourself, sister. All will be as it should be soon enough.”  
“No, Shakespeare. Let her go. I wanna see her deny this.”

She raised her hand, letting the essence of dieffenbachia float towards Tony before Thor wrapped his arms around her from behind, breaking the connection. 

“Don’t do this, Brenna. Do not let him get to you. Take a seat, sister.”  
“Seriously, Stark. Let her be. She’s obviously not in the mood for your jokes, and none of the rest of us are either. This isn’t a time for joking around. This needs to be dealt with properly or people could get hurt.”

She sat down next to Steve, glancing over at him before looking down at her hands. 

“Thank you, Captain Rogers.”  
“Steve, please.”  
“Steve. Thank you.”

She took a breath, not seeing Tony come over to her, though he was stopped by Thor’s hand on his chest. 

“I wouldn’t do anything more if I were you, Stark. Brenna is a sweet girl, but she’s been hurt quite a bit lately and does not have a lot of patience. I have no control over my sister.”  
“That’s good because I wanna see what she can do.”  
“Stark, you’ve already seen what she can do. She knocked you off your feet with a tree branch. And that powder coming from her hand didn’t seem all that friendly. I’m pretty sure you don’t wanna tick her off any further.”  
“She’s a tiny girl. How could she possibly hurt me?”

She rolled her eyes and stood up, placing her hand on Thor’s shoulder, getting him to put his hand down. She raised her hand and created a rhododendron out of nothing, something she’d only done once in her life, though this was on a much smaller scale. 

“This is a rhododendron. It’s beautiful, smells good, and the petals are soft to touch. But if you were to eat just one leaf, your stomach will hurt, you will not be able to breathe properly, you will be paralyzed, you could fall into a coma, and you could die.”

She turned the flower into a powder, letting him see the pink powder in her palm, seeing the slight fear in his eyes. She let him see the anger in her eyes, not messing around with him anymore. 

“I am done with your jokes, your teasing, your incessant questions, and asinine behavior. I might be a Princess and a tiny girl, but if you do not cease your actions, I will not hesitate to do what I need to do to get you to stop. And it will not be a pretty sight. Am I understood, Mr. Stark?”

She watched him nod, not realize her nose was bleeding until she was approached by an agent who had a bottle to put the powder in and a tissue. She started to feel a little faint, gripping Thor’s arm as she pressed the tissue to her nose. She felt Thor take hold of her arm with one hand while his other went to her back. 

“You need to stop pushing yourself like that, Brenna. You still don’t have full control over your powers yet.”  
“Stop it, Thor. I’m fine.”  
“With all due respect, Princess, you’re bleeding and you look like you’re going to pass out. Sometimes, you have to accept your limits. Trust me, Stark is not worth risking your health like this. Please sit down and relax?”

She looked over at Steve, sighing in defeat as she nodded. But she was losing more blood than she thought and the tissue was now soaked and dripping with blood. Steve and Thor both saw it happen before it actually did. Thor caught her as she passed out, picking her up before looking at Fury. 

“Is there somewhere I can put her?”  
“Banner can help her.”

Thor nodded and followed Bruce to his lab, carrying Brenna as he walked off. 

“How long has this been happening? Her losing consciousness like this?”  
“It’s been like this since she got her powers. She’s been getting better at controlling them and she can use more energy without passing out like this, but she’s not perfect. And she’s only ever created something out of nothing once in her life. She was unconscious for weeks. I shudder to think of how long she’ll be out this time. I might just send her back to Asgard to heal.”  
“She seems so sad over Loki. Can I ask what happened?”  
“He faked his death and it broke her heart. They loved each other and he hurt her.”

He laid her down on an empty table when they got there, lifting her head so Bruce could put his coat under her head as a pillow. The two men watched her sleep, both of them worried about her well-being. 

“I can stop her bleeding. Just give me a minute.”

Bruce looked around for something and when he found it, he went back over to her, cauterizing the blood vessels in her nose, the bleeding stopping quickly after that. 

“Thank you, Banner. How did you do that?”  
“I cauterized the vessels in her nose. I’ll take care of her if you wanna go back out and talk to Fury about your brother.”  
“If something happens, let me know immediately?”  
“I will.”  
“Thank you, Banner.”

\------------------------

Brenna walked over to the cell Loki was in, Natasha following behind her. She needed to talk to Loki, but she had to take someone with her. She chose Natasha because she got the sense that Natasha was good at keeping secrets and she needed that right now. She heard Natasha asking the guard to step out for a few minutes, looking at Loki when the door closed. She had tears filling her eyes already and she hated herself for being so weak. But she couldn’t help it. She still loved Loki. 

“Just tell me why. Why didn’t you talk to me? Did I do something to make you not trust me? Did you stop loving me?”  
“Of course not. How could you possibly think that, Poppy?”  
“You left me, Loki! You faked your death! I didn’t get to hear you say you love……. Why? I understand you being angry at father, but I thought I meant more to you than that.”  
“You did. You do. I didn’t do it to hurt you. I did it because I needed to have the freedom to do what I needed to do and I couldn’t have that if I were imprisoned. I wanted to tell you, but you would’ve tried to stop me.”  
“Yes, I would’ve. But we could’ve been together still. I wouldn’t have spent this time wondering why I lost you.”  
“I’m sorry. Please find it in your heart to forgive me.”  
“I’m sorry too. But I don’t know that I can. I don’t know if I can pretend that nothing happened. It hurts too much. Worse than losing our child.”

She watched his mood change when he realized what she said. 

“Our child?”  
“Killing the destroyer you sent after Thor put too much strain on me. And then I was told by Thor that you were gone.”

She felt Natasha put her hand on her arm. 

“Come on.”

She sniffled and looked at Loki as she backed out of the room, tears dripping down her face that matched the silent ones Loki was letting fall from his eyes. When she and Natasha were in the hall, the redhead led her into an unoccupied room, pulling her into a hug, letting her cry it out. 

“Who else knows about the miscarriage?”  
“Just you, Thor, and now Loki.”  
“And that’s how it’ll be until you say otherwise.”

\---------------------

Brenna had been talking to Phil, getting along with him quite well, when the alarm went off. She jumped up and ran off to find Thor. Of course, she found her brother fighting, but he was fighting who she could only assume was the Hulk that they’d been worried about. When she got a good look at him, she recognized Bruce’s face. She surrounded herself in a big bubble of kava kava extract, letting it balloon out to reach Hulk as well. He was distracted enough to look at her instead of Thor. 

“You can trust me, Hulk. I know you’re angry, but you’re destroying this vessel. And if that happens, we could all die.”  
“Hulk don’t know where we are.”  
“We’re on a really big plane in the sky.”  
“We’re in sky?”  
“Yes. So I know it’s hard, but you need to calm down.”  
“Everyone mad at Hulk.”  
“No. They want you to relax because they’re scared.”  
“Throwing things make Hulk angry.”  
“I know. That’s why we’re in this bubble. It’s got the extract of a plant that’s designed to help calm you. It’s called kava kava.”  
“It smells good to Hulk.”

She smiled at him, watching him sit down in front of her. She held out her hand to him, showing him that she was there to help. 

“I’m glad.” 

She started swaying as her nose started bleeding again, the bubble starting to fade. 

“What wrong with lady?”  
“I have powers I can’t fully control. Using them too much at once or doing really big things like creating this bubble takes a lot of my energy. I can already feel my nose bleeding and I feel weak.”

She closed her eyes as Hulk grabbed hold of her and picked her up, holding her close. 

“You sleep well, lady. Hulk protect you.”  
“Thank you, Hulk.”

She let sleep take hold of her as she relaxed in his huge hand. And true to his word, Hulk had protected Brenna while she slept. Even Thor hadn’t been able to get close to her until she woke up. And even then Hulk made Bruce look her over before anyone could talk to her. 

\----------------------

Brenna stood in front of Loki once again, this time her tears were because she knew he’d be arrested and she couldn’t protect him from his punishment. She’d told the other she would go up and try to get him to give up peacefully before they went in. Hulk went with her for protection.

“You were really pregnant?”  
“I was. Only a few weeks along. Thor was with me when it happened. I wanted to tell you and almost sent him to get you before I remembered.”  
“I will never be able to apologize enough. I never meant to hurt you. Please, Brenna, forgive me?”  
“I want to, Loki. I still love you. I don’t think I will ever stop. I want to believe that you’ll never do this again and we can be together and you’ll never break my heart again, but I’ve found that in your absence I’ve grown stronger. In mourning you, I jumped into learning to control my powers and made some real progress. I can do more and I want to keep progressing. I can’t do that with you. I’m sorry.”

She looked over at Hulk when he let out a growl in Loki’s direction, watching him rough Loki up a bit. She moved out of the way before walking off, letting the two fight it out until the others came. She couldn’t face seeing him getting hurt so she left. She passed the others as they made their way up to the top floor, slowly making her own way outside. She saw a few law officials starting to clean up the mess, going over to help as much as she could, silently crying as she worked. 

\-------------------------

“So what’s next for you two?”

Brenna looked over at Bruce with a mouthful of her food, glancing over at Thor for a moment until she could swallow. 

“I think I’m going to stay on Midgard for a little while. I need to distance myself from Loki for a little while.”  
“Well, Princess. You’re welcome to stay at the tower with me.”   
“Thank you, Tony. I think I’ll take you up on your offer.”  
“Are you sure about this, sister? Your tree.”  
“I’ll figure it out. If something happens, I’ll call Heimdall to bring me back.”

She finished her food, ordering more in embarrassment. She figured out that in order to keep herself from passing out, she needed to eat more than she usually did in order to store energy. Bruce was the one to figure it out when Hulk had let him come back and realized how hungry he was afterward. She looked over when Bruce put his hand on her knee. There was an understanding between them that bonded them so easily after meeting. An easy friendship. 

\-------------------------

Brenna stood next to Bruce and Tony, watching as Thor and Loki made their way over, letting out a shaky breath. She looked at Thor, returning his hug with a sad smile before looking at Loki. 

“This isn’t goodbye, Loki. But we both need time away from each other.”  
“Will I ever see you again?”  
“Of course, you will. I have many reasons to return to Asgard. I will visit you. I promise.”  
“Why stay here with these mortals? They can’t help you the way you need.”  
“They’re getting better at being able to. I trust them. And if something happens, I’ll be brought back home.”

She leaned up to kiss his cheek, cupping his face gently. She watched him for a minute before Thor brought Loki over to a different spot, putting the mask on him before getting him to hold onto the other handle of the Tesseract. She watched them leave in the Bifrost before turning to look at Tony and Bruce. 

“Shall we go? I’m ready to see my new room.”

She climbed into the backseat as the two men climbed into the front seat, sitting back as she started crying again, holding onto the ring Loki left behind for her to remind her of him. She knew the two men must’ve heard her, but neither one said anything. Tony simply drove off, driving toward Avengers Tower. She watched out the window as she rode in the backseat, her hair whipping in the wind, going toward a new chapter in her life.


End file.
